THE Open Championship – the oldest major tournament in professional golf – is coming home this week to the cradle of the game, St Andrews.
Still, what is there to enjoy in the shadow of The Royal and Ancient Golf Club if you have no passionate interest in putters and bunkers? We turned to local research and Charles Hunter, veteran Scots travel guide, for the best tips on what to do in the birthplace of golf when you simply don’t care about 18 holes.
WEST SANDS
Movie buffs can enjoy a free thrill sprinting along the seaside West Sands – the setting for the iconic team run that opens and closes the Academy Award-winning film, Chariots of Fire (Vangelis theme optional). People should note there’s no vehicle access during The Open.
ST RULE’S TOWER AND THE RUINED CATHEDRAL
A prime, free tourist stop, the ruins of St Andrews Cathedral and its St Rule’s Tower date back to 1158 and are all that remain of the largest church ever built in Scotland.
Once the centre of the Scottish Catholic Church, the cathedral fell to history during the Scottish Reformation of the 1500s. The grounds outside the ruins offer prime views of the North Sea.
HIKE THE CASTLE COURSE
While the golf world obsesses with the Old Course, there are six others making up the overall St Andrews complex – the largest environment for the sport in Europe.
Walking paths packing impressive vistas of the sea and nearby town crisscross a few of them (no clubs required). The Castle Course offer the best of those views and wanderers out for a stroll mix with golfers throughout the track (so named because its signature holes play into a distant view of St Andrews Castle) a safe distance from the fuss of the Old Course.
FIFE COASTAL PATH
If the golf-adjacent hiking paths are packed or out of reach during Open Championship Week, the Fife coastal path is a well-marked alternative trail.
ST ANDREWS UNIVERSITY AND ST SALVATOR’S CHAPEL
St Andrews is the oldest university in Scotland. Founded in 1413, the campus is open to visitors looking for a quiet stroll through academia. Dating from 1450, the beautiful St Salvator’s Chapel serves as the heart of the campus and is open for quiet contemplation during school hours.
ST ANDREWS PIER WALK
According to Hunter, every Sunday after service at St Salvator’s Chapel, university students don their traditional red gowns and walk the St Andrews Pier “to honour the rescue of crew members from the ship Janet of Macduff in 1800 by former student John Honey”. You don’t have to don red yourself, but a bracing trek down the pier offers an intimate taste of North Sea air.
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ST ANDREWS BOTANIC GARDEN
Consistently listed as one of the finest ecological attractions in Scotland, the St Andrews Botanic Garden gives travellers a reason to head to the city’s southern edge.
Stretching for more than 18 acres along the Kinness Burn woods, the garden is operated by the local council and offers a mix of standing attractions and special exhibitions exploring the floral and fauna of Fife outdoors and in glasshouse environments.
Admission is £6 for adults, £5 for seniors and free for university students with ID and under-18s.
PITTENWEEM
For visitors looking to step a little outside St Andrews’s immediate surroundings, the village of Pittenweem is a 20-minute drive south with its delightful, picturesque harbour and a selection of small art galleries.
ANSTRUTHER
If hunger sets in for visitors with a bit more ambition to wander, Hunter recommends a 15-minute drive and a check- in at the Fisheries Museum in the village of Anstruther.
“You’ll find great fish and chips by the harbour a short walk from the museum,” Hunter added.
www.charleshunter.co.uk www.st-andrews.ac.uk www.st-andrews.ac.uk/about/history/st-salvators/ standrewsbotanic.org
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